Information processing apparatus and output switching control method

ABSTRACT

According to one embodiment, an information processing apparatus includes a display, a connector which outputs a video signal, a display driver which controls output of a video signal to the display and connector, a monitoring unit which monitors whether a partner switches an input from a video signal output from the connector to another video signal, the partner being connected to the connector, and an output switching unit which instructs the display driver to switch the output destination of the video signal from the connector to the display when the monitoring unit detects that the input of the partner is switched to the other video signal.

CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS

This application is based upon and claims the benefit of priority fromJapanese Patent Application No. 2007-204609, filed Aug. 6, 2007, theentire contents of which are incorporated herein by reference.

BACKGROUND

1. Field

One embodiment of the invention relates to a video signal output controltechnique that is preferably applied to a personal computer including amotion picture playback function capable of transmitting a video signalto a television broadcast receiver, for example.

2. Description of the Related Art

In recent years, personal computers including functions of permittingusers to receive and view television broadcasting program data and playback audiovisual (AV) content stored on Digital Versatile Discs (DVDs)have become widely used. Thus, motion picture data (containing audio)can be utilized while the user is moving or in a position where he hasgone to if the user carries a notebook personal computer that can bebattery powered, for example.

Further, recently, the quality of a video motion picture is furtherenhanced and personal computers capable of playing back high-definitionmotion picture data stored in recording media complying with theHigh-Definition (HD) DVD standard start to be widely used. Generally,this type of personal computer has a mechanism of outputting ahigh-definition video signal to the exterior and, for example, the usercan enjoy a high-definition video motion picture played back by thepersonal computer on a large-screen high-definition television broadcastreceiver by connecting the personal computer to the large-screenhigh-definition television broadcast receiver when he is at home, forexample.

The number of application configurations in which a plurality ofelectronic devices each having a function of playing back motion picturedata and audio data are connected each other, for example, the abovepersonal computer is connected to the television broadcast receiver isincreased. Therefore, for example, various proposals for efficientlyswitching sources are made (for example, refer to Jpn. Pat. Appln. KOKAIPublication No. H7-192443).

Generally the television broadcast receiver includes a plurality ofinput systems and is designed to select a desired motion picture to bedisplayed by a simple operation. Therefore, in a case where the motionpicture output destination of the personal computer connected to atelevision broadcast receiver is limited only to the televisionbroadcast receiver, a display motion picture is kept disappeared untilthe user performs some operation if a to-be-input object of thetelevision broadcast receiver is switched to a motion picture other thanthe motion picture from the personal computer even though the personalcomputer is being operated. At this time, the state in which the displaymotion picture is not displayed anywhere is maintained.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE SEVERAL VIEWS OF THE DRAWINGS

A general architecture that implements the various feature of theinvention will now be described with reference to the drawings. Thedrawings and the associated descriptions are provided to illustrateembodiments of the invention and not to limit the scope of theinvention.

FIG. 1 is an exemplary diagram showing an application configuration ofan information processing apparatus (personal computer) according to anembodiment of the invention;

FIGS. 2A and 2B are exemplary views for schematically illustrating avideo signal output switching control operation performed by theinformation processing apparatus of the embodiment;

FIG. 3 is an exemplary diagram showing the configuration of theinformation processing apparatus of the embodiment;

FIG. 4 is an exemplary diagram showing a function block associated withthe video signal output switching control operation realized in theinformation processing apparatus of the embodiment;

FIG. 5 is an exemplary flowchart showing the operation procedure of thevideo signal output switching control operation performed by theinformation processing apparatus of the embodiment; and

FIG. 6 is an exemplary flowchart showing the operation procedure of avideo signal output switching control operation (modification) performedby the information processing apparatus of the embodiment.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION

Various embodiments according to the invention will be describedhereinafter with reference to the accompanying drawings. In general,according to one embodiment of the invention, an information processingapparatus, includes a display, a connector which outputs a video signal,a display driver which controls output of a video signal to the displayand connector, a monitoring unit which monitors whether a partnerswitches an input from a video signal output from the connector toanother video signal, the partner being connected to the connector, andan output switching unit which instructs the display driver to switchthe output destination of the video signal from the connector to thedisplay when the monitoring unit detects that the input of the partneris switched to the other video signal.

In FIG. 1, one example of the application configuration of aninformation processing apparatus according to the present embodiment isshown. The information processing apparatus 1 is realized as a notebookpersonal computer (PC), for example.

In this case, as shown in FIG. 1, a case wherein the informationprocessing apparatus 1 is connected to a video apparatus 2 via aHigh-Definition Multimedia Interface (HDMI) cable A is assumed. Thevideo apparatus 2 is a large-screen high-definition television broadcastreceiver (TV). In the information processing apparatus 1, varioussoftware programs (application programs) used to play backhigh-definition data are installed and the user can enjoy ahigh-definition motion picture played back by the application programsby use of the video apparatus 2 by connecting the same via the HDMIcable A. Further, the information processing apparatus 1 and videoapparatus 2 which are connected via the HDMI cable A can transmitvarious types of commands to each other to control the operations of theconnected partners.

Next, the mechanism of switching output destinations of a video signalprovided by the information processing apparatus 1 (in response to amotion picture input switching operation of the video apparatus 2) at anadequate time is schematically explained with reference to FIGS. 2A and2B.

First, as shown in FIG. 2A, a case wherein a video motion picture playedback by the information processing apparatus 1 is displayed by use ofthe video apparatus 2 (without displaying the motion picture on adisplay of the information processing apparatus 1 side) is assumed.Further, it is assumed that a motion picture input to the videoapparatus 2 is switched to a motion picture other than the motionpicture of the information processing apparatus 1 when the playbackoperation of AV content is terminated, for example.

In this case, for example, a video motion picture of a switcheddestination of a television broadcasting program is newly displayed onthe video apparatus 2. However, if no operation is performed, theinformation processing apparatus 1 displays no motion picture althoughit is being operated. The display motion picture of the informationprocessing apparatus does not appear anywhere. Therefore, a design ismade to automatically switch a video signal output of the informationprocessing apparatus 1 into a display mode as shown in FIG. 2B in theabove case.

FIG. 3 is an exemplary diagram showing the configuration of theinformation processing apparatus 1. As shown in FIG. 3, the informationprocessing apparatus 1 includes a CPU 11, north bridge 12, main memory13, graphics controller 14, VRAM 14A, display 15, south bridge 16,BIOS-ROM 17, hard disk drive (HDD) 18, magnet-optical disk drive (ODD)19, sound controller 20, speaker 21, embedded controller/keyboardcontroller (EC/KBC) 22, keyboard 23, touch pad 24, network controller25, high-definition multimedia interface (HDMI) connector 26, consumerelectronics control (CEOC: device-device bidirectional) controller 27and the like.

The CPU 11 is a processor that controls the operations of the respectiveportions in the information processing apparatus 1. The CPU 11 executesan operating system (OS) 100 that is loaded from the HDD 18 into themain memory 13 and various programs, that is executed under the controlof the OS 100, containing utilities and an application that deals withAV content. As one of the utilities, a motion picture output automaticswitching utility 101 which will be described later is present. Further,the CPU 11 executes a basic input/output system (BIOS) stored in theBIOS-ROM 17. In the following explanation, the basic input/output systemitself stored in the BIOS-ROM 17 is referred to as the BIOS 17 in somecases.

The north bridge 12 is a bridge device that connects the local bus ofthe CPU 11 with the south bridge 16. The north bridge 12 has a functionof communicating with the graphics controller 14 via a bus and containsa memory controller that controls access to the main memory 13. Thegraphics controller 14 is a display controller that controls the display15 on the information processing apparatus 1 side. The graphicscontroller 14 generates a video signal to be output to the display 15based on motion picture data written into the VRAM 14A. Further, thegraphics controller 14 has a function of outputting the video signal tothe exterior from the HDMI connector 26.

The south bridge 16 is a controller that controls various devices on aPCI bus and LPC bus. Further the south bridge 16 is directly connectedto the BIOS-ROM 17, HDD 18, ODD 19 and sound controller 20 and has afunction of controlling the above portions. For example, televisionbroadcasting program data and AV content and the like downloaded via theInternet are stored in the HDO 18 and an HD DVD that stores AV contentis received in the ODD 19, for example. The sound controller 20 is asound source controller that controls the speaker 21. The soundcontroller 20 has a function of outputting an audio signal to theexterior from the HDMI connector 26.

The EC/KBC 22 is a one-chip microcomputer obtained by integrating anembedded controller for power management and a keyboard controller thatcontrols the keyboard 23 and touch pad 24. The network controller 25 isa communication device that communicates with an external network suchas Internet, for example. The EC/KBC 22 is operated while the powersource of the information processing apparatus 1 is kept off andmonitors whether the power source ON operation is performed or not, forexample. Then, if an event suggesting that the power source is turned onoccurs, it performs the control operation to activate the informationprocessing apparatus 1. Further, the EC/KBC 22 continuously suppliespower to the CEC controller 27 while the power source of the informationprocessing apparatus 1 is kept off.

The HDMI connector 26 is a terminal to which the HDMI cable A isdetachably connected. The CEC controller 27 performs a data transmissioncontrol operation to transmit various commands for operation control viathe HDMI connector 26 under the control of the EC/KBC 22. As one of theevents for turning on the power source that is monitored by the EC/KBC22, an event of receiving a power source on request command by the CECcontroller 27 is present. The CEC controller 27 has a function ofnotifying a state change occurring in the controller itself as a status.

FIG. 4 is an exemplary diagram showing a function block associated witha video signal output destination switching control operation realizedin the information processing apparatus 1 with the above configuration.

If an operation of switching a video input motion picture from theinformation processing apparatus 1 to another motion picture on thevideo apparatus 2 side, the state change is transmitted as a status tothe information processing apparatus 1 via the HDMI cable. The status isguided into the information processing apparatus 1 via the HDMIconnector 26 and received by the CEC controller 27 and reception of thecommand is notified to the EC/KBC 22.

When receiving the notification, the EC/KBC 22 generates a key codeindicating the notification contents as input data addressed to themotion picture output automatic switching utility 101. The key code istransmitted to the OS 100 via the BIOS 17 and is further transmitted tothe motion picture output automatic switching utility 101 from the OS100.

The motion picture output automatic switching utility 101 is a programprovided to automatically switch the output destination of the videosignal from the HDMI connector 26 to the display 15 in response to amotion picture input switching operation on the video apparatus 2 side.The motion picture output automatic switching utility 101 is registeredas a resident program that is always executed when the power source ofthe information processing apparatus 1 is set on.

The motion picture output automatic switching utility 101 that is theresident program has a TV output state monitoring module 101 and anoutput destination switching control module 1012. When a notification ofthe status associated with the state change in the video apparatus 2 isreceived from the OS 100, the TV output state monitoring module 1011checks whether or not an input motion picture is switched from themotion picture of the information processing apparatus 1 to anothermotion picture.

If the input motion picture is switched from the motion picture of theinformation processing apparatus 1 to another motion picture, that is,if it is detected that the input motion picture in the video apparatus 2is switched from the motion picture of the information processingapparatus 1 to another motion picture, the TV output state monitoringmodule 1011 notifies the output destination switching control module1012 to that effect.

The output destination switching control module 1012 receiving thenotification gives an instruction of switching the output destination ofthe video signal from the HDMI connector 26 to the display 15 to thegraphics driver 1001. As a result, it becomes possible to preventoccurrence of the state in which the information processing apparatus 1displays nothing even though it is being operated and the display motionpicture does not appear anywhere.

FIG. 5 is an exemplary flowchart showing the operation procedure of thevideo signal output switching control operation performed by theinformation processing apparatus 1 of the embodiment.

When a certain state change occurs on the video apparatus 2 side, the TVoutput state monitoring module 1011 that receives a notification of astatus indicating the state change from the OS 100 first checks whetheror not the status is associated with the motion picture input switchingoperation on the video apparatus 2 side (block A1).

If it is associated with the motion picture input switching operation(YES in block A1), then the TV output state monitoring module 1011checks whether or not the input motion picture is switched from themotion picture of the information processing apparatus 1 to anothermotion picture (block A2). If the input motion picture is switched fromthe motion picture of the information processing apparatus 1 to anothermotion picture (YES in block A2), the TV output state monitoring module1011 notifies the output destination switching control module 1012 tothat effect.

Then, the output destination switching control module 1012 receiving thenotification gives an instruction of switching the output destination ofthe video signal from the HDMI connector 26 to the display 15 to thegraphics driver 1001 (block A3).

On the other hand, if the input motion picture in the video apparatus 2is switched from a motion picture other than the motion picture of theinformation processing apparatus 1 to the motion picture of theinformation processing apparatus 1, it seems that a command thatrequests that the output destination of the video signal is activelyswitched from the video apparatus 2 side to its own apparatus (videoapparatus 2) is transmitted in addition to the status indicating thestate change. Therefore, it is possible to switch the output destinationof the video signal to the video apparatus 2 side at the time ofreception of the command. However, it is useful to preparatively switchthe output destination of the video motion picture to the videoapparatus 2 side in the information processing apparatus 1 at the timeof notification of the status indicating the state change withoutentirely depending on the control operation of the other apparatuses.FIG. 6 is an exemplary flowchart showing the operation procedure of avideo signal output switching control operation performed by theinformation processing apparatus 1 of the embodiment in the above case.

When a certain state change occurs on the video apparatus 2 side, the TVoutput state monitoring module 1011 that receives a notification of astatus indicating the state change from the OS 100 first checks whetheror not the status is associated with a motion picture input switchingoperation on the video apparatus 2 side (block B1).

If it is associated with the motion picture input switching operation(YES in block B1), then the TV output state monitoring module 1011checks whether or not the input motion picture is switched from themotion picture of the information processing apparatus 1 to anothermotion picture (block B2). If the input motion picture is switched fromthe motion picture of the information processing apparatus 1 to anothermotion picture (YES in block B2), the TV output state monitoring module1011 notifies the output destination switching control module 1012 tothat effect. Then, the output destination switching control module 1012receiving the notification gives an instruction of switching the outputdestination of the video signal from the HDMI connector 26 to thedisplay 15 to the graphics driver 1001 (block B3).

On the other hand, if the input motion picture is switched from a motionpicture other than the motion picture of the information processingapparatus 1 to the motion picture of the information processingapparatus 1 (NO in block B2), the TV output state monitoring module 1011notifies the output destination switching control module 1012 to thateffect. Then, the output destination switching control module 1012receiving the notification gives an instruction of switching the outputdestination of the video signal from the display 15 to the HDMIconnector 26 to the graphics driver 1001 (block B4).

As described above, according to the information processing apparatus 1of the present embodiment, the output destination of the video signal isswitched at adequate timing in response to a motion picture inputswitching operation of the video apparatus 2 connected via the HDMIcable A.

While certain embodiments of the inventions have been described, theseembodiments have been presented by way of example only, and are notintended to limit the scope of the inventions. Indeed, the novel methodsand systems described herein may be embodied in a variety of otherforms; furthermore, various omissions, substitutions and changes in theform of the methods and systems described herein may be made withoutdeparting from the spirit of the inventions. The accompanying claims andtheir equivalents are intended to cover such forms or modifications aswould fall within the scope and spirit of the inventions.

What is claimed is:
 1. An information processing apparatus, comprising:a display; a connector which outputs a video signal; a display driverwhich controls output of a video signal to the display and theconnector; a command communication unit configured to communicatevarious commands for operation control and various statuses indicatingoperation states via the connector; a monitoring unit configured tomonitor whether an operation state of another apparatus coupled to theconnector changes from a first operation state to a second operationstate based on a status received by the command communication unit, thefirst operation state being a state where said another apparatus inputsa first video signal output from the connector, the second operationstate being a state where said another apparatus inputs a second videosignal output from a source other than the connector; and an outputswitching unit configured to instruct the display driver to change theoutput destination of the video signal from the connector to the displaywhen the monitoring unit detects that the operation state of saidanother apparatus changes from the first operation state to the secondoperation state.
 2. The information processing apparatus according toclaim 1, wherein the connector is detachably connected to ahigh-definition-multimedia interface (HDMI) cable.
 3. An outputswitching control method of an information processing apparatusincluding a display, a connector which outputs a video signal and acommand communication unit configured to communicate various commandsfor operation control and various statuses indicating operation statesvia the connector, the method comprising: monitoring whether anoperation state of another apparatus coupled to the connector switchesbased on a status received by the command communication unit, the firstoperation state being a state where said another apparatus inputs afirst video signal output from the connector, the second operation statebeing a state where said another apparatus inputs a second video signaloutput from a source other than the connector; and switching an outputdestination of the video signal from the connector to the display whenit is detected that the operation state of said another apparatuschanges from the first operation state to the second operation state. 4.The information processing apparatus according to claim 1, wherein: themonitoring unit is configured to monitor whether the operation state ofsaid another apparatus switches the second operation state to the firstoperation state based on the status received by the commandcommunication unit; and the output switching unit is configured toinstruct the display driver to switch the output destination of thevideo signal from the display to the connector when the monitoring unitdetects that the operation state of said another apparatus switches thesecond operation state to the first operation state.
 5. The outputswitching control method of an information processing apparatusaccording to claim 3, the method further comprising: monitoring whetheran operation state of said another apparatus switches the secondoperation state to the first operation state based on the statusreceived by the command communication unit; and switching the outputdestination of the video signal from the display to the connector whenit is detected that the operation state of said another apparatusswitches the second operation state to the first operation state.
 6. Amethod comprising: monitoring, by an information processing apparatusincluding a display and a connector, whether a state of a secondapparatus coupled to the connector changes from a first state to asecond state, the first state being a state where the second apparatusinputs a first video signal output from the connector, the second statebeing a state where the second apparatus inputs a second video signaloutput from a source other than the connector; and automaticallyswitching, by the information processing apparatus, an outputdestination of the first video signal from the connector to the displayupon detecting that the state of the second apparatus switches from thefirst state to the second state.
 7. The method according to claim 6further comprising: monitoring whether the state of said secondapparatus switches the second state to the first state based on a statusreceived by a command communication unit.
 8. The method according toclaim 7, wherein the command communication unit is situated within theinformation processing apparatus.
 9. The method according to claim 7further comprising: switching an output destination of the video signalfrom the display to the connector when it is detected that the state ofsaid second apparatus switches the second state to the first state. 10.The method according to claim 7, wherein the connector of theinformation processing apparatus is a high-definition-multimediainterface (HDMI) connector.
 11. The method according to claim 7, whereinthe second apparatus is a television.